


Jumper

by Rangerskirt



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Age Difference, Alive Cole Anderson, Alternate Universe - No Androids (Detroit: Become Human), Angst, But he tries and he learns, Connor Deserves Happiness, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Family, Fluff, Hank Anderson is Bad at Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, LONG HAITUS/POSSIBLE DISCONTINUE, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Romance, Soft Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Touch-Starved, jumper au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 19:22:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerskirt/pseuds/Rangerskirt
Summary: (Jumper AU - Don't need to see to understand)Jumper - a person who can teleport themselves great distances and largely unknown to the common world.Paladin - a person part of an organization dedicated to hunting down these people for various reasons in secret.Hank has always hated Jumpers, he has his reasons. So when Cole made his first jump he had no idea how to handle it, he'd never turn his son in but he didn't know how to raise a kid with such abilities. So what does he do? Track one down and force them to help him figure his son's jumping out, that's where Connor comes in.----Harsh Hank with a rough past isn't very trusting of anyone, let alone the Jumpers he's so dedicated to capturing for work. But when Connor ends up in his life the man isn't like anything he's used to, he's kind and gentle even when Hank knows he could be deadly if he wanted to. It's different and part of Hank really likes that, a lot, and part of him doesn't. Let's hope he doesn't fuck up a good thing.-LONG HAITUS/POSSIBLE DISCONTINUE-





	Jumper

**Author's Note:**

> Some tags may come into play in the second chapter, tags may also change/be updated when the second chapter posts.

pal·a·din  
*a knight renowned for heroism and chivalry.

Or in Hank's case, a Paladin was simply his job title. It meant a group of people that hunted Jumpers, odd human beings with the ability to teleport great distances. Neither Jumpers nor Paladin's were common or easy knowledge to come by and largely unknown to society.

When he was only ten years old Hank's parents had been murdered by some desperate Jumper looking for people to rob to get quick drug money, the hatred created by that festered and grew inside of Hank as he grew and never lessened. When he turned sixteen he'd been approached by a Paladin overseer named Amanda Stern and offered to be trained in the trade, he quickly accepted and soon became one of their best as capturing Jumpers.

Sometime in between that time and now Hank had captured a record of twenty Jumpers, which didn't sound like a lot but they were tricky buggers and not easily taken, in those travels Hank had been to every continent and all over the world chasing them with no partner at his side. Not just that but he'd met a wonderful woman to fall in love with, had a baby with her, then promptly been broken up with soon after the birth and became a single father to little Cole. Easy to say Hank's life had been far from boring both professionally and personally.

Many Paladin's hunted Jumpers for religious reasons, believing only God should have the power to be so many places in an instant, but there were just as many nowadays doing it for the money or hatred like Hank was.

Less than a month after Hank's forty-fifth birthday Cole turned eight and less than two weeks after that his son made his first jump, panicked Hank had quickly covered up any sign of the jump happening at work and lied to his confused son saying he'd just been dreaming the whole event. He hated Jumpers, fuck he hated Jumpers, but he loved Cole more than anything in the world so there was no way he was going to turn his kid into the Paladin company.

Only problem was that he had no idea how Jumpers worked, he'd never talked to one long enough to ask questions and the science department was very secretive about how they made the jump-following guns all Paladins were issued. Hank's last resort was to quickly track down a Jumper, any Jumper would do, incapacitate it and force it through any means necessary to help him hide his son's ability.

One week ago Hank had said his goodbyes to Cole in Detroit and left him with his long-term nanny saying he had a long overseas business trip to attend and he wouldn't be home for a few weeks, it was painful to be away from Cole for such long periods but he'd finally gotten the scent of a Jumper over in England so it shouldn't be too much longer.

Tools all Paladin's were issued included his specialized gun which was able to hold a jump portal open for an extra ten seconds to follow through as well as being a normal gun and a heavy duty stun gun specifically made to shock Jumpers and prevent them from jumping for a time after a hit. Then there was the jump-tracker imbedded into Hank's phone, it was about the only thing he used on his cell other than to call or video chat Cole occasionally or do business, and luckily Hank had picked up a trail thanks to his tracker.

That's why at 8 pm on a Wednesday night he was dressed to the T in a nice suit jacket and in some fancy smancy British bar taking a heavy swig of whiskey and looking out into the posh crowd for his target. And there he was only twenty minutes after Hank had shown up, his research showed up with a name, age, job, address, those sort of things but they were likely all fake so he ignored them completely. The young man mingling in the crowd had brown neat hair and matching eyes, young and likely in his late twenties or early thirties, and wearing a white shirt with black slacks and a matching vest.

He'd taken down so many of these bastards but they were all the same, using their powers to steal what they wanted and hurt anyone in the way, then they used fake lives to live how they wanted with fancy homes, clothes, restaurants and flaunting what they'd taken. To his slight surprise, Hank didn't have to do any chasing, the young Jumper finished his conversation with a pretty young woman and walked over taking a seat directly next to Hank at the bar. "A cosmopolitan please Lucas." he called to the bartender.

Hank snorted catching the brunette's gaze, the young man frowned. "You're one of those types that think a guy can't drink a cosmo then?" the Jumper turned in his seat to face Hank and gratefully took the sweet looking drink when it was handed to him. "Sort of, I like my whiskey better, it's cheaper and gets me drunk faster."

The frown disappeared, "I prefer to do things slowly and savor them, the longer it lasts the more I get to enjoy it." there was a small flutter of the man's big doe eyes that left Hank blinking, he'd never been flirted with by a Jumper before but hey he could roll with it. "Drinking it down hard and quick is usually more my style."

Smiles spread over both of their faces and the other man extended his hand, "My name is Ryan Kellis, nice to meet you Mr...?" Ryan had been the name Hank read on the man's papers, his fake name but he had nothing else to call him by.

Shaking hands he answered, "Hank, just Hank is fine. So, Ryan, what do you say to a little wager? I bet you get drunk faster on your puny little cosmos than I will on my whiskey."

Taking a sip of his drink the so-called-Ryan started to draw his finger playfully over the countertop, "Interesting I guess, what if I win?"

"I'll concede to your opinion, agree that cosmos and sweeter drinks are far superior to my straight shot whiskey." Ryan looked a bit bored with that and almost started to pout, "And if you win, then what Hank?"

"If I win, I take you home." Hank watched as the other man tried to hide the pure redness crawling over his face by drinking down a few gulps of his drink and then taking in a breath. "Deal."

For the next hour they sat making idle chit-chat and keeping up with each other's drinks, the kid was holding out pretty good but Hank had years more of drinking hard liquor under his belt and a good amount of weight to fall back on for help. As the clock neared 10 pm Ryan waved his hand and rubbed the other over his forehead, "I tap out, I lose." Not all the way gone drunk but seemingly knowing when he was at his limit, Hank could tell the man really wanted to sleep with him anyways so losing wasn't even a bad thing.

"Let's go."

"After you." Hank said with a victorious smile watching Ryan slap down a few large bills paying for both of their drinks plus tip.

The night air was cool and Hank prepared himself for a small walk but instead his wrist was grabbed and he was yanked into an alleyway, he almost lashed out expecting a fight but instead found himself being pulled against Ryan who was eagerly pressing his own back against an alleyway wall and starting to fumble with his belt. "I thought you liked to take things _slow_ and _savor_ them?" Hank teased and rested his hands on Ryan's hips but slowly moved one reaching for his hidden gun.

"I-I do but, sorry it-it's just been a long time for me and I'm really eager." the smaller man apologized and tried to slow his movements. "Hank? Um..." Pushing up slightly on his toes Ryan leaned in trying to kiss Hank but froze when a gun was shoved into his stomach. "Hold on there kiddo, I don't think you're getting what you want tonight. Take me back to your house so we can talk in private."

The man shuddered and hissed, glaring deep holes into Hank with his eyes, "Fucking Paladin's showing up at the worst times in the worst places." But doing as he was told the younger man jumped them both inside of a cozy looking loft home, not huge but on a large piece of property which made for good privacy. Hank kept his gun trained on the other even when he took a step away, "Now let's start with something simple, what's your real name? I know it isn't Ryan and I'm not going to call you that."

"Why do you fucking care? You got me, just shoot me and be done with it Hank." he spat out poisonously, Hank knew he probably would have put up a bigger fight if he hadn't been drinking all night but was happy there was less work for him.

"I'm not going to shoot you unless I have to, look this is a different kind of situation than what you're thinking. I'm not here to kill you or take you to the Paladin HQ, I'm here because my son is eight and just made his first jump and I need help with this all." Hank said blatantly, there was no way getting around it and it was just best to be honest and hope the Jumper believed him.

"Oh wow, you _poor_ thing having such a monster for a son." the other rolled his eyes and said with heavy disdain and sarcasm prevalent. "How does it feel knowing he's like me, a disgusting, blasphemist thing to be forever hunted and-Nng!" the Jumper startled backward holding his nose after Hank punched him hard, "Don't fucking talk about my son that way, he's innocent in all of this!"

But the fight wasn't done just like that, the Jumper attacked Hank and they fought, each getting in a few good hits and the smaller man being surprisingly a clean fighter and not using his jumping to catch Hank off guard. In the end, Hank won, standing over the Jumper who'd been knocked to the ground and with a busted lip and bleeding nose panting heavily. "You're going to help me because my son is an innocent child! And...because I can scrub all of your records in the Paladin database if you help me."

Licking his bleeding lip the Jumper forced an angry grimace, "Oh why didn't you just start with that?" Having his info erased from the database wouldn't gain the Jumper freedom from the Paladin's but if he was smart about it Hank knew the man could get at least a few years of complete peace from them before they started to pick up his trails again. "You're serious though, this is for your kid." he stated.

"Yeah of course I'm fucking serious, why would I lie about that?"

"Paladin's will lie about anything to put us Jumper's off guard....but fine, it isn't like I have a choice so I'll agree to help you with what I can. Afterward you scrub my information away and forget you ever met me." That was the deal, letting one Jumper live in order to keep his son safe, without hesitation Hank held his hand out to shake and also pull the other man to his feet.

"Deal." they agreed.

"Did you really have to hit me so hard?" the other whined and wiped his nose with his white sleeve.

"Hey I may not be bleeding but you hit me pretty fucking hard too, pretty sure you almost dislocated my shoulder and bruised a few of my ribs." It was impressive but like hell Hank was going to compliment one of those things. "So tell me your name already."

"Huh? Oh, it's Connor. That's my real name."

Hank still wasn't sure if he believed it was his real name, but it was good enough. "Okay so uh...shit I didn't think it this far through. Didn't think any of you would actually agree to help me."

"Why don't we go back to your home? Paladin's won't look for me there so I'll be safe and I can meet your kid and we'll figure something out...not sure how much I can teach you but we'll see." Connor suggested while crossing his arms.

Despite really not wanting a Jumper in his home he agreed and nodded, it was the safest place, if another Paladin found out about what was going on Cole would be taken and he would likely be thrown in jail under false charges for the rest of his life.

"If I tell you where can you jump us, I hate flying..."

Connor sneered at the request, "You hate our kind but you still want the convenience of instant-travel..." Hank just shrugged nonchalantly at that, it wasn't the power he hated but what that power did to those who possessed it, it turned them into monsters who killed others. "Yeah, I can." Connor said resigned but grabbed a duffle bag, "I'm going to pack some of my things. Chances are I won't be coming back here either for a long time, or ever...if one Paladin can find me then others can."

Again the house wasn't huge but it was littered with things, many books lined the walls, a piano sat in the corner of the living room near an old-fashioned record player. As Connor packed Hank took it upon himself to snoop, through the music that was, he smiled at the selections. There was a lot here that he had back home, a few jazz and some rock music, and then a good handful of things he'd never heard of or wasn't interested in. It was nearly two in the morning England time before Connor was ready with two large duffle bags of things. "Fuck those look heavy, did you stuff your entire house in there?"

"Fuck you, you try packing up all of your important shit at last notice and go halfway around the world to...um, where are we going?" he stopped his little rant and blinked softly.

"Detroit, Michigan over in the states. It's-"

"Yeah, I know where it is." Connor interrupted before grabbing Hank's arm and jumping them without warning. The feeling gave Hank's stomach a good twist with a hot sickly feeling coming from all the alcohol sitting there still digesting. After coughing dryly when they settled Hank looked around, he knew where they'd landed, a park downtown he'd come to with Cole a few times. "I live over in-"

"No."

"What?" Hank asked gruffly.

"I said no, I got us to Detroit but we have to walk or get a cab like any normal person to get to your house. I'm not your personal Uber service Hank." Gritting his teeth the older man muttered, "Fine, it's not far anyway. We'll walk."

The nightly October air in Detroit was crisp and getting colder as the evening grew later but it was tolerable by Hank's standards, it was nothing compared to their winters. "That time difference is really going to fuck me up for a few days." he muttered, his phone read 8:21 pm local time by the time they arrived at his quaint home.

Warm air settled over both of them once inside, the nanny was up and drinking a glass of hot chocolate while watching tv but stood and smiled seeing Hank came home. "You're back sooner than expected, or are you leaving again?"

"No, you can head home and keep the extra I paid you. Thanks for watching Cole on such short notice Lucy."

"Of course Hank, anytime. Cole just fell asleep a bit ago so he should be down for the night. Good night." she said and left without any questions.

Connor was already making himself at home by looking through the house, picking up the picture on the mantle of both Hank and Cole and studying it, "So your son's name is Cole and he's eight." He muttered more like he was thinking to himself than trying to make conversation. "Had his first jump so he's a bit of a late bloomer..."

"Daddy!" squealed a young voice as a familiar force knocked itself into hugging around Hank's legs, "I knew I heard you come home!" The father couldn't fight the smile pulling onto his face as he ran an affectionate hand through his boy's hair. "I missed you too Cole, I finished up early so I came straight home." He ignored the pair of eyes he could feel watching their every move from in Connor's direction.

"I'll tuck you back into bed but first I want to introduce you to someone. This is Connor, he um....uh..." Hank drew a blanket, he'd forgotten to think of an excuse as to why this stranger was going to be staying in their home for a short time.

Connor, on the other hand, walked over and knelt right in front of Cole with a friendly smile, holding his hand out to shake, "I'm Connor, nice to meet you Cole! Your dad is being nice and letting me stay here for a little while to do some work, I hope you don't mind."

Being spoken to on his level and in a polite way Cole warmed up easily, "No I don't mind, daddy always says we should share things when we can! So if you wanna borrow any of my toys while you're here you can!"

The Jumper let a small laugh bubble up through his throat, "Thank you I'll keep that in mind." Now it was Connor's turn to feel eyes watching every one of his moves, Hank wanted to shout _don't touch my son you fucking Jumper_ when they shook hands but restrained himself. This was going to feel like an eternity living with Connor.

-_-_-_-.-_-_-_-

The first week was pretty stiff for both adults, they were constantly on edge around each other. Hank thinking Connor might try to jump away or maybe do something weird to Cole, and Connor thinking Hank might randomly try to kill him or alert other Paladin's to his location. But nothing like that ever happened. Cole, on the other hand, was having a great time, the eight-year-old hadn't had his father around so constantly in quite a while so when Hank told him he'd be around continuously at least for a month he was beaming, and he'd somehow made quite the good friends with Connor.

It seemed while the Jumper wasn't happy about being around Hank too much he had nothing against Cole despite his parentage and twice so far when Hank returned from his temporary office work he'd find his son returned home just before him from school and playing games with Connor on the tv.

Both of them were patiently waiting for Cole to make another accidental jump, that's what Connor said would help them decide what the next step would be from there. So in the meantime the younger man had been teaching him little things about the species like that they always had their first jump between the ages of five and eight. They were only able to jump short local distances, usually places they went to often, at first and that grew over time. The closer or more familiar one was with the location they were going then it would take less energy to jump.

Hank's hatred for Jumpers hadn't lessened even a little but he was finding it harder and harder to specifically hate Connor, oh sure he still watched the man like a hawk whenever he played or talked with Cole. But he just seemed so damn human and normal that it was setting Hank at ease far more than he was comfortable with, dare he say that he almost... _almost_ , liked Connor.

So for now they awaited the next jump, the plan would be to follow him through the jump portal and explain everything that was going on, Connor insisted that hiding information about what he was would not help Cole in the least bit. Learning young was key to figuring Jumper life out.

Another few days flew by, the previous one left Hank a little tingly feeling and he wasn't sure in a good or bad way. He'd come home to find Connor and Cole laughing happily together and playing a video game, neither noticing him coming home yet but he heard his son ask, "Are you and my daddy friends?"

"Hmm no not really, we sort of work together and your dad is pretty nice so he's helping me out, but I don't think he likes me all that much."

"Oh. Well I like you, I think he will too but he takes a while to warm up to people sometimes. That's why he doesn't date ever." Connor snorted at that, kids nowadays knew too much for their own good and grew up too fast.

"Hey I'm home!" Hank called.

It was the day after that and Hank sat in his car during lunchtime, his usual greasy burger in hand that he was eating. He dreaded going back into that office building, he much preferred being out in the field doing action orientated things than taking a temporary leave to do paperwork duty. It was so fucking boring.

Hank's phone buzzed with a text and picked it up to look at it without thinking.

_From: Fowler_  
_Got some Jumper activity while I was passing through Detroit just now, I'm headed elsewhere so you might want to check around._

The Paladin swallowed hard and tossed his phone aside before speeding off towards Cole's school. "Fuck _fuck_!" He was one hundred percent sure Cole had jumped, so he burst into the school and marched to the office saying he needed to take Cole home. No matter how hard they looked Cole was nowhere to be found, his phone beeping with recent Jumper activity. "Fuck, he could be anywhere in Detroit..."

No, Connor said their first jumps were most likely to be places they were familiar with. Best chance would either be a park or home since he wasn't at school, he'd try home first. As he skidded to a stop in his driveway Hank's phone was beeping endlessly with Jumper activity, almost diving out of the car once it was in park and shoving in his front door shouting, "Cole!!"

Hank's stomach dropped looking at the state of his living room, things were ripped, broken, turned over, there was a blood splatter or two on the walls and some smears of it as well. "Cole!" he yelled louder than before, tearing open his son's room and his own to find nothing but the same mess as the living room.

A creak of a closet door caught his ears, hand on his gun Hank called, "Come out unarmed!" But felt the air quickly leave his throat when Cole came running out, clothes slightly torn and bloody handprints smeared on the fabric as the boy ran into his father's arms to sob.

"Fuck, Cole! Thank god you're alright! You _are_ alright aren't you?" Hank asked quickly as he scooped his son up into his arms and cradled him close. "It's okay, I'm here, I'll protect you. Just tell me you're okay and what happened." the father tried to soothe.

Down to sniffles the young boy wiped his face into Hank's shoulder and held onto him tightly. "C-Connor...he-um, he..." Cole couldn't finish before the sobs wracked his small shoulders again and Hank didn't push for more. Of course it was that bastards fault, Hank should have known better than to let a Jumper into his home let alone be by himself with his son. Before he could say anything Cole just pointed at the closet he'd come out of moments before ushering his father to check inside.

"Stay here kiddo." he placed Cole on the couch and wrapped a warm blanket around his shoulders. Slowly he pushed the door open, hand on his gun, and turned the light inside on. There sat on the floor, Connor holding his bleeding stomach and looking an awful blood-covered mess but breathing steadily as his brown eyes looked up to meet Hank's blue. "Hey.." he tried to smile.

His fists found purchase in Connor's torn shirt and dragged him up the wall, shoving him back with all of his strength. "What the fuck did you do!? Cole is hurt because of you-you fucker!! I should've known better than to trust a piece of shit Jumper like you!" The light in the closet wasn't very bright but even in the low bright Hank could see the black eye Connor was sporting, the swollen cheek, of course the blood running down his side, and the way he held himself up just barely with his own legs, he was a mess.

"I didn't...it wasn't me." came a rigid and painfilled voice. "Sure you didn't." Hank said distrustfully.

"Stay here you piece of shit." he ordered when his dad's ears picked up Cole's crying starting up harder again. Connor slid down the wall to sit without Hank's weight to press him up to the wall, "Couldn't leave if I tried..."

Pulling the boy into a hug, "Shh kiddo what's wrong? Did he hurt you?"

"No-...Not Connor..." Pulling back from Hank's shoulder little Cole had red puffy eyes and a dribbly nose, "Someone broke in, he had a gu-a uh, a gun. Connor protected me."

"What, are you sure that's what happened?" touching a comforting hand to the boy's hair and ruffling it. When Cole nodded Hank mimicked and leaned to kiss his son's forehead, "Got it, don't worry I believe you. I'll be back in a minute and then I'll tuck you in for a nap, you look exhausted bud." Then headed back to the closet and sighed looking at the pathetic lump of a Jumper sitting there bleeding. "Let's get you to the bathroom and take care of that bullet wound."

"Would love to if I could get myself to my feet." Connor smiled tiredly and winced when Hank yanked him up and helped him walk to the bathroom. Connor didn't fight the manhandling and let Hank sit him down on the toilet seat, Hank rolled his eyes, "You're so dramatic, don't tell me you've never been shot before?" He'd have been more worried if the wound was in a serious place, but it wasn't, looked like a harsh graze in the side by the way it was bleeding.

Despite what he'd said Hank thought Connor was being severely _under_ dramatic. He'd been attacked, hurt, shot, by some guy and not even just that but yelled at and shoved by Hank. Yet all he did was sit quietly and let the Paladin figure things out himself, smiling gently when he found the energy to.

"Not in a very long time, I'm usually very careful about not getting caught by rogue Jumpers or Paladin's." Sure didn't seem that way with how Connor had been throwing himself at Hank the night they met but hey whatever floated the other's boat to think.

"Get undressed, I'll be back with some stuff after I check on Cole. Just press a rag to the wound until I come back." he ordered again and headed back to the couch. To his luck Cole had already fallen asleep clutching the blanket tight around him, judging by how dried all of the blood was everywhere the attack had been a bit go so no wonder Cole had calmed down so much in the meantime. Hank smiled at how cute he was, thinking proudly about how tough his son was to have been through so much today and two minutes after seeing his father he just fell asleep.

After close inspection, Hank noted Cole had some scrapes and bruises but the blood on his clothes was not his own, so he changed the boy's clothes and tucked him into his own bed. Then planted another kiss on his forehead and closed the door behind him.

Hank made a pit stop at the kitchen for a moment then returned to Connor, this time without Cole worrying on his mind Hank felt a bit bad for the Jumper. That and Connor with his shirt off made him think some rather dirty thoughts before catching himself, "So, tell me what happened while I was at work." Right, work. Shit. At least he didn't have to lie much, the rogue Jumper explained why there was Jumper activity in the area and Hank could just say that one had found his location and attacked his home. The HQ wouldn't question him, he was a trusted veteran.

Letting the older man check over the gash on his side Connor winced once or twice and hissed but said, "Cole jumped from school to here, I have no idea who that guy was but he followed through Cole's jump and tried to attack him. Don't worry though, I jumped him and me a ton of places before leaving him dead in the middle of the Alaskan wild. If he lives there's no way that asshole will be able to get back through all of those rifts." Hank had never heard Connor speak so harshly, he kind of liked it.

"Haven't had a chance to explain all this jumping stuff to him yet, is he alright?" with the blood slowed Hank started to sew up the wound, it looked painful but not too bad like he'd expected. "He's asleep so not as bad as he could have been. Scratches, bruises, can't say I'm too pleased but he isn't the one with a bullet wound so...I guess I owe you a thanks."

"If there's one thing you and I can agree on Hank, it's that Cole is innocent in this whole Jumper vs Paladin war. He's a good kid. Ow!" Connor hissed again but held himself still as Hank finished sewing him up and slapped a lazy large bandage over the area. He tended to have bandages of all sizes in the house since he had an active eight-year-old that scraped his knees or legs all of the time.

"At least there's that between us then. You look like you need a shower but seeing as you can't even stand on your own I'll just settle you into the couch for now." With Connor's arm around his shoulder the Paladin helped Connor to where he'd been sleeping as promised. "Jumping really took that much out of you?"

"Yes Hank, it did. I jumped from here to Japan, to Australia, to here, to Alaska and then back here. Yes I'm fucking tired..." he grouched. "You're not religious so I don't even know why you hate Jumpers, let alone me who hasn't done anything to you."

A silence fell between them and Hank threw a partially torn pillow from the ground into Connor's face to lay on. "You're all corrupt in your own way. A lot of you just steal things, any little thing that you want you just take. Some of you are way worse, you use your power to get into places and cause havoc, terrorize, some use it to kill."

"That's what happened then?" Connor picked up on Hank's tones, "A Jumper killed someone you cared about, your wife?" he guessed.

"No, my parents. When I was five. Go the fuck to sleep Connor."

"Fine, I fucking will..." In a huff, Connor turned on his uninjured side to curl up away from Hank. "And...sorry, about what happened to your parents." his voice was softer then but he said nothing else and didn't expect any sort of reply from Hank.

-_-_-_-.-_-_-_-

After that huge fiasco everyone was more on edge in the Anderson household. Cole didn't like being by himself very often so he clung to Hank and Connor's side, Hank didn't mind he was still hyper vigilante after getting the house back into order and settling the situation with work. They'd believed him without question thankfully.

Connor had changed the most, before the attack he'd been like a moocher just sleeping on the couch and eating Hank's food without doing much. But after he couldn't keep still, if he wasn't trying to teach Cole about jumping then he was cleaning the cluttered house or making dinner, hell he even made lunches for the two Anderon's every morning now to take with them.

It had unsettled the older man, well not the actions himself but the fact that he was getting used to having a little housewife and that he was _enjoying_ it. Watching Connor prance around the house and humming some song with laundry in his arms sometimes left Hank smiling when he didn't realize it. Hank had never been the best at cleaning but his house wasn't anything near a hoarders, it wasn't that bad...at least he thought so. Connor had other ideas and higher standards so he'd taken it upon himself to clean often since he was home all day anyway.

As the days kept passing by Hank had a harder and harder time thinking badly of Connor in general, no longer did he just consider the man _that Jumper_ but more of a colleague. A colleague Hank really wanted to sleep with. A man only had so much self-control when a nice ass in shorts danced around his house all day every day.

Coming home the following Thursday Connor and Cole were in the living room, that was normal, but not playing games or watching tv or even doing home-yes Connor had been helping Cole with homework as of the last week. They were practicing Cole's jumps, "I'm home!" he called. "Welcome home daddy!"

"Oh perfect timing Hank, Cole has something he wants to show you!" Connor declared and stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips before winking at the young boy. "Don't worry, you've got this."

Hanging up his coat and kicking off his shoes Hank stood there expectantly, "Okay, I'm ready."

Cole closed his eyes and took in a few slow breathes and looked like he was concentrating very hard before he disappeared from the living room and then peeked his head out of the bathroom around the corner, "I did it!"

"Nice job Cole, I bet you're getting pretty good at that aren't you?" his father praised feeling a swell of pride in his chest at the accomplishment, Cole's first deliberate jump. "Yeah, Connor said I'm doing really good for a beginner!"

"Our kind tend to get this swell in our nerves over time when we don't jump somewhere for long periods, like some instinct or need that builds up until it's an itch that has to be scratched. Kind of like with the distance it's not as easy to control when you're younger, so if Cole needs to jump he knows what to do." Connor explained, "Right?"

"Right! If I'm home then I jump from room to room. If I'm somewhere else then I find a bathroom or somewhere secluded and jump there where no one will see me." the boy said with a little smug grin on his face like a kid who'd just learned they were really good at a new sport.

"That's great kid, you're doing so good but be careful..." He trusted Cole but there was always the possibility of being seen and that scared Hank to death. The man ruffled his kid's hair with a smile nonetheless, not letting his fear be shown to such small eyes.

"Sooo Dad...because I'm doing so well, can I go to a sleepover tomorrow after school? Niyah Wells got a new game and she wants me to play first with her." that one of Cole's best friends had school, a girl in all of his classes and they hung out often at play dates but not usually sleepovers.

"You want to sleep over at a _girls_ house Cole?" he teased.

Puffing his cheeks out pouting Cole clenched his hands and whined, "It's no different than going over to Jake's place, but Niyah's cooler...she reads the same books as I do." True, those two were always squawking about whatever they were reading together at the current moment. "Yeah I don't see why not, as long as Connor thinks you've got a handle on this jumping stuff."

Connor, who'd been mostly silent as the Anderon's talked, smiled and nodded. "Cole is doing everything I've asked, he'll be fine for a night." Hank didn't want to encourage his son to stop enjoying life in order to stay home and be scared following them around instead, actually where had all that fear and clinging Cole had gone off to? Hopefully it had just run its course and the kid was so sturdy that he felt safe on his own again.

Enough thinking about it, Hank decided it was a good thing and he should be happy about it. "What's for dinner Connor? I"m starving."

"Stir fry with extra vegetables."

"Gross." both Hank and Cole said at the same time, they ate the dinner without any other complaints.

Driving Cole to his friend's place the next evening after school there was a pit of anxiety growing in a tight ball at the base of Hank's stomach. He'd packed an overnight bag for his son that was stuffed full of things that Cole could possibly need, he probably wouldn't touch half of it but you never knew. One thing he hadn't prepared for was what he and Connor were going to talk about without Cole at home, usually the young boy was the buffer between his father and mentor conversation wise.

He took his time dropping Cole off, making sure to have a small conversation with Niyah's parents and then said goodbye to Cole, making sure the kid had everything he needed like emergency numbers and favorite stuffed animals. Then headed on towards home, that pit growing bigger in his stomach to the point where Hank was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

Fuck this was his worst nightmare, Hank stepped into his own home to a wonderful sight and smell. The small and quaint house was filled with the smell of dinner, the sound of food cooking on the stove and someone walking around the kitchen and that person was absolutely beautiful but something that Hank hated above anything else. If he still believed in a God he would know for sure that the lord was testing him as Hank watched Connor step from counter to counter slowly, hair still wet and freshly washed from a shower but thankfully not wearing those really short shorts he owned but instead sported baggy sweatpants. They didn't help ease Hank's lust that much because as he was slowly learning, it wasn't just the man's ass that got to him but the entire package, his face, his ass, the way he was with Cole but also the way he wasn't scared of Hank despite them being mortal enemies.

"Hey!" Connor greeted, "Dinner is almost done, fifteen minutes tops Hank!" When the older man approached Connor scrunched up his nose, "I know you didn't have work today but did you get cleaned up at all this morning? You smell like you just rolled out of bed, go take a fucking shower."

A heavy sigh left Hank's lips and he ran a hand through his greasy hair, yeah he'd been a bit lazy with showering the last few days he'd admit it. Sometimes he got that way and just forgot all about taking care of himself, but the scrawny Jumper in his kitchen wasn't going to let that slide.

"Fine." he grumbled, "What are you making?"

"Turkey and rice pilaf with some steamed vegetables, you'll like it so don't make a face." Hank didn't make a face but he did roll his eyes before going to take a short shower and then sitting down to dinner with Connor.

Connor was right, he did like it as usual, the man was a pretty good cook admittedly and he always seemed to enjoy being in the kitchen. Halfway through eating his meal Hank's curiosity and pushy nature got the better of him, "Why are you doing all of this? I kidnap and threatened you to teach my son but...you cook, clean, you play with Cole and all that jazz. Is it because you're bored or are you just trying to spite me because I hate Jumpers?" Okay the way he'd worded it didn't come out how it'd sounded in his head. Mentally he'd just wondered _why is he being so nice when I've been such an asshole to him?_

The smaller man's fork clinked down onto his plate softly and he wiped his mouth with a napkin revealing that he was frowning deeply. "Are you accusing me of manipulating you and your son?"

"I uh-"

"Because if you are, that's complete bullshit!" Connor snapped and stood up on his side of the small table. "As you said, _you_ kidnapped me, _you_ threatened me into doing this and now that I'm here and being completely compliant you can't wrap it around your head that I'm a good person!" All of the pent of feelings Connor had been holding in since their initial fight was coming tumbling out.

"Oh yeah? I have no idea if you're a good person, I've known you for what? Two, two and a half weeks and I know next to nothing actually about you!" His own anger flared up and Hank shoved himself to stand up, one hand planted hard into the table next to his plate.

"You've never _asked_ me anything!" Connor pointed at him, "In fact you rarely speak to me unless it's about Cole so don't go spouting shit at me like I'm holing things up and lying to you!" Connor was fine with how things were, he wasn't part of the family so it was natural Hank didn't really care about him but now he felt like Hank thought he was going to turn around and hurt Cole. He would never, he loved the sweet kid.

With a snort and snarl Hank crunched his forehead into a harsh glare, "Like you know anything about me either."

"I know a hell of a lot more about you than vice versa. Your hatred of Jumpers comes from the fact that one killed your parents when you were young, because of that you've put a lot of effort into your work as a Paladin which you're very decorated and respected in. Cole's mother isn't in the picture, I'm guessing you're both too hard headed and couldn't stick together. You're a fucking stubborn asshole to everyone you meet that doesn't register as important to you but..."

"But?" Hank was tapping his fingers angrily into the table, having the truth thrown in his face made him want to do one of two things. Either punch Connor in the face, or get pass out drunk like he hadn't been able to do in a long time.

"But you're a good father..." Connor's anger started to fizzle out and his voice softened, "I think you're someone who has felt betrayed and abandoned massively in your life so to avoid more you focus on the one person who wouldn't do that. Your son...I watch you with him every day, I was worried at first because you're a Paladin and you hate us Jumpers with a passion but...but you love him so much in spite of that. I respect you for that."

At that last part Hank's throat felt dry and he swallowed hard trying to relieve the feeling, "How did you know all of that?" The only thing he'd ever told Connor directly was about his parents, never about his wife or things in his life.

"When I was younger I really wanted to be a detective, old dreams die hard I guess." Connor shrugged. "I like picking up on little things and drawing conclusions, nice to see I'm not too rusty at it." he managed a tiny smile that didn't hold for long before turning into a solemn look.

Hank shook his head slowly and sighed again, "I really don't understand you. I dragged you here away from whatever life you had but you don't complain, in fact you embrace it all and do more than I've ever asked of you. You haven't tried to escape or threaten me back, I don't understand you Connor."

"That's because I'm not that type of person Hank, I'm not the sort of person you're used to in your life that will use things against you. I've hurt a lot of people in the past and I never want to go through that sort of life again, so even if you're a Paladin...even if you decide to kill me when we're done with this arrangement, I won't fight back using information against you. Being here is better than the life I had back in England anyway so just let me enjoy it while I"m here."

A silence fell over the room and in long strides Hank stalked around the table to lumber over Connor, the other didn't back off or look frightened or even the slightest bit intimidated. "Yes Hank?" he asked calmly and so quietly that if anyone else were in the house only the two of them could have heard it.

Hank gripped Connor's chin tight between a few fingers and his opposite hand just as firmly over one of the shorter man's hip bone. "You piss me off something awful...you want to enjoy your time here is that it? Then be a good boy and get on the table."

Brown eyes flickered from Hank's face and around a few times as the Jumper thought for a split second what he wanted to do before ultimately deciding to obey. Pushing his dinner and utensils across the table and out of the way he hopped up to sit on the sturdy table, Hank followed and stayed close within range to lean up and kiss easily. "Not like that."

Rough hands grabbed at one of Connor's ankles and forcefully flipped him around to be bending over the table as he gave a grunt. "H-Hank wait!"

"I'm not a patient sort of guy, pretty sure I told you that the night we met." Hank said and started unbuckling his pants, "Take your pants off." he ordered. His own pants were dismantled quickly and Hank got to work fisting his half erection growing it fuller.

Connor's fingers shook with anticipation as they slowly pulled his boxers and sweatpants off his hips to fall down to his ankles. The Paladin was quick and not super thorough with his fingers before spreading Connor's cheeks and muttering, "I'm going to fuck you now."

The table scraped along the floor a few inches with Hank's powerful thrusts until it pressed firmly against the adjacent wall, Connor squirmed and writhed trying to find his own purchase before gripping a hand tight onto one edge of the table and using his other to fist his cock as he was fucked thoroughly over the table.

It was fast and a bit rough but Connor came first not too long in with Hank following quickly after, pulling out but leaving a mess running down the brunette's leg and them both panting. Hank had imagined doing quite a few things to the Jumper over the last few days and yet when he finally had the courage to do something he hadn't done a single one of them, no kisses or hickies, no gropes or dirty talk, just a cold quick fuck on the dinner table.

Connor used some throwaway napkins to clean himself up quickly before fixing his pants, "Well, that was unexpected, but not unwelcomed."

For what was probably the first time Hank smiled at Connor, "You've obviously been craving a good fuck, I just took pity on you finally." he joked and earned a shove in the arm as Connor snorted, "Asshole."

Even though things were light between them Hank had this overwhelming feeling and need to go to his room and drink a few beers alone to fully comprehend what had just happened. "I'm uh, gonna head to bed early tonight." he stated while grabbing two beers from the fridge.

Connor's friendly look turned into a blinking surprised one, "Huh? Oh...Oh okay. Good night Hank."

The beers felt like pain medicine going down easy as he drank them down and laid in bed with the lights off and scrolled through the internet on his phone. For the first time Hank couldn't even think about sleep, he was thinking about all of those Jumpers he'd brought into HQ over the years...he didn't know exactly what they did with them but he was sure it was bad. Most likely they were all dead, he'd killed all of those Jumpers and they could have been more like Connor than like the man who'd scarred his early life.

"Shit." he hissed to himself and rubbed his tired eyes, Hank knew there was no point in really feeling like this. What was done was already done, he couldn't take any of that back now...but still a guilt started to consume his mind and he wished that there were more beers or alcohol in his kitchen than those two beers he'd swallowed down. The man tried his damnest to find sleep but after hours of tossing and turning he kicked his covers off and swore hard under his breath and grabbed his phone to check the time, almost one thirty in the morning.

A small creak sounded when his door was opened and a figure stood there, "Hank, sorry to intrude but I heard you muttering so I knew you were awake..."

"Ugh yeah, I can't sleep." In the dark Hank couldn't see much other than Connor was in his usual sleep attire, clean boxers and a plain gray t-shirt that hugged his frame comfortably. "What are you doing up?"

"Well I just um..." approaching the bed until he was right next to Hank the man wrung his hands together gathering up some courage in the dark. Then he mumbled something Hank didn't catch, "What was that kid?"

Connor made a frustrated noise and then slung one leg over Hank's lap in bed to straddle him, "I said I want you to fuck me again!" In the light Hank couldn't really see it but he could feel the erection resting on his own groin through Connor's boxers.

Lifting the shirt over his head the brunette ground himself down into Hank causing them both to groan but large hands to jump up and clamp down on his slender hips. Immediate want flooded the older man, maybe this was just what he needed to blank his mind out and fall asleep.

-_-_-_-.-_-_-_-

Waking up the next morning Hank felt like he was sleeping on a cloud in heaven because of how rested he felt. HIs alarm buzzed softly and he smacked it off just in time to hear Connor groan softly but not wake up, just to shift himself where he was curled up on Hank's chest but snuggle back down to keep cuddling. A small satisfied smile on his face even as he snoozed.

Hank let out a long breath, leaned to kiss a small bruise on Connor's neck before settling back and dancing his fingertips along the brunette's soft back slowly. _Fuck he's beautiful_ he couldn't help but to think. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone buzzed with a text, it was Cole.

_From: Cole_  
_Dad come pick me up there are police here asking me questions and I'm really scared and confused. Please come get me._

**Author's Note:**

> Coming Next - Ch2. A Brave Knight
> 
> Hank has to deal with things he's brought on himself, his job being suspicious, his son's growing frustrations, Connor and his new...relationship? Or lack of one if he keeps letting his mouth fun and fucking good things up.


End file.
